The Necromancer
by Black Eye Panda
Summary: AU How much more must a necromancer sacrafice for his Lord? HPLV Repost
1. Prologue

_Drip._

_Drip._

_Drip._

The slow, steady beat did wonders to distort the perception of time for its sole listener.

The occupant of the deepest, darkest cell in the prison shifted as he was forced to listen to the reluctant stream of water and the occasional squeak from his vermin cellmates. The occupant was the newest addition to the lowest level of Azkaban; the level reserved for traitors.

Dull green eyes looked passively at the rat sniffing the plate of stale bread. He made no move to prevent the consumption of his bread as it was carted off to feed the hordes of vermin infesting the prison.

Despite the symphony produced by the water, the rats, and the rattle of the chain whenever he bothered to move, he was unnerved by the deafening silence. It was a form of punishment, he knew, having heard of this level during his training days. He never believed he would ever be in this sort of position.

_How the mighty have fallen indeed_, he thought bitterly,_ when the man you love doesn't trust you anymore_. His heart throbbed painfully at the thought. He was still hurt and angry over the event that led to his imprisonment and felt betrayal to the most painful degree towards the man that sent him here. Lord Voldemort.

He once had the same goal as his lord did, as any person who loved someone dearly would change to follow the one they love, into the battlefield, to support him in any endeavor his lord chose to pursue. He desperately clutched the innocent object lying on his chest. It was a gold locket, in the shape of a heart. Its defining feature was a ruby, encrusted in the center of the locket. Inside laid a lock of hair that belonged to Lord Voldemort. The inscription on the otherside read, Mine. Forever.

As he traced the engraved letters, he began to cry. What was the price one paid to love another?


	2. Who are they?

Chapter 1: Who are they?

The sunlight illuminated the green field reverently. The clouds moved hurriedly across the skies as the determined winds drove behind it. Today, nature did not alter its plans and bestowed upon the earth a fair day.

The field's occupants heard no wildlife as they nervously shifted within their battle gear. Seasoned warriors surreptitiously checked their gear while eyeing the other soldiers beside them. They were new and, thus, of no help to them when the time called for it. Green recruits always hesitated when you needed them the most. Nevertheless, despite their naïveté and ignorance, they came here to defend their country when their lord called and, because of this, it earned the veterans' respect. Yes, despite their inexperience, they would find many watching their back and furtively guarding it.

.

Located in front of the troops, Bellatrix Lestrange directed a soothing hand upon her mount as it shifted nervously. She gave a glance at the men behind her. What she saw were determined men. She looked ahead of her towards the enemy and saw that what laid ahead were those who would harm her beloved country and lord. Today's battle would signal the answer to the declaration of war.

She signaled her fellow riders to spread out. Nodding to their lord, they prompted their horses and spread out across the field along the line of their defense. Today would be their lord's first appearance. It would be prudent that nothing went wrong.

.

All eyes honed in upon the sword raised by the majestic figure upon the blackest horse. With a cry, the figure kicked his horse into a gallop. The serenity was broken and the masses moved forward to meet the enemy head on.

.

Lucius Malfoy swung his saber across the footman's neck. Blood coated his horse's chest as the footman's grip on his pike slackened. The body had yet to hit the ground before Lucius engaged another rider in a short dance of swordplay.

Taking advantage of the rider's broken concentration, Lucius snaked his saber into the opening in the armor where the arm met the body. He pushed the rider off his saber before he could bleed all over his saddle and quickly reassessed his surroundings.

Before he could engage another enemy combatant, his bay mare reared in fright as the ground started to shake in great waves.

.

"To me, my elite!"

At the command, Severus Snape quickly pulled his dapple gray gelding towards his lord. It became increasingly difficult to navigate through the dead bodies, as he had to quickly dispatch oncoming enemies.

Pain burst through his arm as his gelding stumbled upon another wave of the shaking earth, leaving the opportunity for an eager foot soldier to bring his axe down upon Severus's left arm. Before the footman could land another blow, Severus thrust his saber into the footman's neck as his gelding 

recovered its footing. Freeing his blade, he urged his mount into a canter, nursing his wound and eager to reach his lord.

.

Lord Voldemort eyed the field ahead in distaste. His elite gathered around him, akin to a safety blanket.

"Good heavens. . . What. . . What **is** that?" No one was sure who uttered it, utterly transfixed by the sight unfolding before them.

"Demons."

At the answer, the elite looked towards their lord in horror.

"What kind of evil could summon such monsters?" Bellatrix asked shakily, gripping her saber harder.

"It seems that Grindelwald has managed to obtain necromancers."

.

The earth shuddered again, expressing its pain in destructive ways.

A crack slowly appeared in the middle of the invader's area. As it widened, the earth tremors became worse, quavering harder and harder until it quit expanding.

Black, bubbly shadows began to ooze from the crack to cover the ground and its occupants. Screams emanated from the victims only to have it cut off when they were completely covered.

.

The battle came to a standstill as its participants paused to watch the scene unfold before them.

The victims of the black substance began to rise. The substance slowly slid off to reveal horribly disfigured body parts and supernatural abilities. Screams of a different nature began to sound. As the creatures finished disfiguring their hosts' body parts to suit their needs, they began to descend upon the enemy troops like a plague.

.

With the sight of the incoming enemy, the elite had no need to be told what to do next. Quickly wheeling their mounts toward their own troops, they began to call for a reformation. Their enemies were monsters and evil but they did not fight united as one and that would most assuredly grant the defenders an advantage.

.

Wise blue eyes twinkled behind half-moon spectacles as it watched the scene before him unfold. What a fortuitous event indeed!

His thoughts broke from the anticipatory shifting of his group. Turning towards them, he began to speak.

"How unfortunate that our proposed training field is in use today. However, it is, at the same time, fortuitous indeed, that we are given this opportunity to exercise the practical portion of your training in a real dangerous setting." The students looked at each other and shifted on their mounts excitedly. The chaperone did not.

"Guild Master! You can't be serious. They are still children!" His darkening emerald eyes blazed with incredulity and anger.

"It is perfectly alright, Harry. You and I will be there to supervise the children. If there are any problems, we can handle any situation that arises. Have more faith in me, dear boy," the Guild Master replied gently. Under the watchful eyes of the students, Harry abated reluctantly. It would not do to question the Guild Master's authority so publicly. After all, he was the _Guild Master_. He could most certainly handle any situation.

Twinkling eyes brightened as it swept over its students again. "You're objective for today's session will be to exorcise the demons from their human hosts. As you may note while exorcising them, most of the hosts will be dead or disfigured beyond repair after the exorcism. This is due to the necromancer's lack of control over their power or the low amount of power available to them. As you train to be a proper necromancer, you must avoid these practices. It further weakens the necromancer's powers and causes an erosion between the tie from the castor to his or her summon." The group shuddered at the thought. "As you can imagine, it can be damaging not only to the audience but to the actual castor. You must always remember your limitations and always have control of your powers."

"Because of the amount of damage they can inflict, we cannot have demons or any trace of the demons wandering around in the human realm. Therefore, this exercise will test the amount of control over your own budding powers and basic skills. I expect teamwork from everyone. However, since your power levels are roughly the same, I shall be testing your ambitions and skills by giving a competitive edge to it. A day of leisure will be given to the student who exercises the most demons." The students cheered and gave their companions a crafty smile.

The Guild Master gave his students a warming smile and motioned for Harry to approach. "If you would be so kind as to create a shadow gate for us."

"As you wish, Guild Master."

.

Lord Voldemort critically eyed his rallied troops. They were untrained for this type of battle. Truth be told, they all were. He had not expected Grindelwald to sink his grubby paws onto a necromancer. More fool him in underestimating someone as resourceful as Grindelwald.

His gaze swept over his elite. He hoped that he would be able to come out of this battle with his most faithful followers unscathed. As his elite gathered around him again, he raised his sword high. With a battle cry, he surged forward with his troops as one.

.

A small group of riders slipped out of the shadows. Taking a moment to prepare for the coming exercise, they looked intently towards one individual to give them the affirmation. Gazing at them with pride, Guild Master Albus Dumbledore nodded. With that, the students surged forward quietly and left the two observers.

.

Lord Voldemort quickly beheaded the sickly looking creature before him. It was the best way to kill them, he found, as he watched the body quickly turn into dust. He took advantage of the quick respite to survey the carnage before him.

His troops were quickly being pushed back. The monsters were too strong for his inexperienced troops to handle. Damn Grindelwald for obtaining a necromancer!

.

Severus looked up to see a young child. Startled by the sight of such a young individual, he saw the swipe of a deadly claw too late. He closed his eyes, waiting for the incoming blow, only to be startled by an inhuman cry so near him. He opened his eyes to see the young girl's glowing white hand holding onto the clawed arm. The monster screamed as the girl tightened her grip. Its black skin began to glow a bright white until it disintegrated, cutting off its scream and leaving behind its dead host.

The girl gave the stunned Severus a superior look before pulling her mount towards another creature.

How… interesting.

.

Lucius beheaded another jackal-like monster with his bloody saber. The monsters were beginning to slow to a trickle as the small glowing group before him moved towards the bubbling fountain of black viscous fluid. Every monster they touched, whether with a bare appendage or with an equally glowing weapon, either disintegrated or lost their black skin. A trail of disfigured bodies were left behind as they continued on, most dead, others dying.

Who were they?

.

Bellatrix killed the last monster to come near her blade. She trotted towards her lord and her fellow companions, watching the children continue with their work. The battle came to a standstill as the survivors watched on. Who were they?

**Etcetera**: Sorry about the delay. For those of you that did not check my profile, I had gone to debate camp! Fun right? X……X

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy the update! It took me awhile to come up with since I came back from camp with no motivation to write it. This is slightly unproofed so if you notice any mistakes, please let me know.

And I must leave you to crave another chapter since it is 2 am and I need to be awake enough to tutor some kids for some money. :x

Edit 08/01: Uhh, sorry about that. A little bit of indecisiveness... Original storyline is back on track. Dx


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